The Comox Valley Road Runners have been busy during the rainy days of autumn.
In mid November the annual Memorial Run was held, followed by the club’s annual general meeting. This run is dedicated to the remembrance of members that the club has lost over the years, including Lorne Franks, John Siemens and Paul Ervin. Club members also run on this day in memory of other people who were close to them.
In racing news, a few intrepid CVRR runners travelled to Victoria to compete in “Canada’s Most Challenging 10k and ½ Marathon” at the Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa. These races are considered very demanding because of the three distinct hills on both courses, which have been named Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear.
Kiyoko Marton (1:02:15) was the only CVRR racer to participate in the shorter, challenging 10km race while Marion Bryan and Brad Crowe turned in excellent times in the 21km course. In a very competitive race, Marion was 5th woman overall (1:53:42) while Brad was 3rd racer to finish (1:25:06).
More recently, the heavy rain and gale force winds did little to dampen the spirits of three Road Runners who competed in the 30th annual Sacramento, California International Marathon. In a race known for its good weather, this was one of the worst years ever with high winds knocking down trees and causing power outages and the rain coming down so hard at times that the racers were running through water halfway up their calves along sections of the race course.
The local contingent was lead by Les Disher in a time of 3:04:37 finishing 1/129 competitors in the M6064 age division. Danny Keyes ran a personal best time of 3:14:20, 25/394 in the M5054 age group. Rounding out the CVRR team was Wayne Crowe, coming off injury he managed a respectable 3:14:52, 11/223 M5559.
Future CVRR events include the annual Jingle Bell Run. Bring your family, bells, and food to Seal Bay Nature Park on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. The poker run supports the Comox Valley Food Bank. This is a fun run that meanders through the wonderful trails at Seal Bay Park. Its goal is to collect money and non-perishable food items for the food bank.
“Last year the event was an overwhelming success,” said Sam Knowles, who coordinated the 2011 run with Brooke Thoburne. “We raised over $800 and collected a truck load of food from over 200 bell-ringing participants, and we’re going for a PB amount this year,” added Knowles.
Participants can run or walk their choice of a 7km or 3km course this year. They’ll collect poker cards on the course and the best hands win locally donated prizes. Registration for the Jingle Bell Run will start at the Bates Road parking lot at Seal Bay Nature Park at 10 a.m. Walkers will start at 10:45 a.m. and the runners will start at 11 a.m. Registration fee is a $5 donation and a non-perishable food item. All proceeds go to the Comox Valley Food Bank. There will be refreshments and draw prizes that have been provided by local businesses. Visit www.cvrr.ca for more details.
"Don’t forget to put your bells on!" a CVRR spokesperson said.
– Comox Valley Road Runners